Fun Activities for Kids and Parents Alike

A beautiful wedding reception with tall, gorgeous vases of flowers, elegant decorations and white tablecloths is often a call for disaster for a bored child. Keeping kids entertained doesn’t have to mean turning your wedding into a children’s birthday party if you include a few fun things. The best thing about these activities is they are also a lot of fun for adults.

Photo Booth Fun

Photo booths are simply fun. They’re a hit with all ages because you get to make silly faces, try all kinds of poses and take home the memories. You get to let out your inner child while the kids get to just have fun. At a recent wedding we found ourselves spending more time in the photo booth with my nephews than on the dance floor. We had a blast putting on the silly glasses, feather boas, and other funny masks on a stick.

Kids’ Activity Table

Every kid loves crayons. Heck, every adult loves crayons. Stock a kids’ table with lots of crayons and paper. Be careful and steer clear of markers because you don’t want their cute little outfits covered in marker, even if it’s washable. You could even put out craft supplies to keep the kids entertained. Things like stickers and pipe cleaners make great art pieces. Adults can join in on the fun and create something to take home for the refrigerator. Instead of setting out just coloring books, go the extra step and print out customized coloring pages. You can download printable pages and/or use a photo editing program to make pictures of the bride and groom into sketches kids and adults can color. Let this area be your artistic area where it’s perfectly acceptable even at the nicest wedding to get messy and creative.

Games

We went to a wedding with all sorts of games ranging from popular board games to life size bar games. Jenga pieces as big as your arm were fun to stack and even more fun to see who could jump the farthest as they fell. Adults played corn hole as kids ran around figuring out the croquet set. You could even set up an area with video games. The best part about a game area is parents can leave the kids playing and go enjoy time on the dance floor. Of course, games are so much fun the parents might jump right on in with the kids for a game of Twister.

Party Entertainment For Kids

It may sound crazy to spend some of your budget on what is usually considered kid’s party entertainment, but it’s actually genius. Hiring a balloon animal artist or a magician can entertain kids for hours. Have the balloon animal creator walk along the tables stopping to create their pieces of art for the kids. I can promise no child will get bored when they’re waiting for a balloon elephant. A magician could set up in a certain area so the kids go watch the show while the parents do their own thing. The best thing about this type of entertainment is it can actually double as fun for the kids and parents so you’re hitting two birds with one stone. Who doesn’t love to take home a balloon weiner-dog hat?

Make Tablecloth Art

White tablecloths are classic and beautiful for adults, but kids are just going to spill their milk and throw fruit all over them. Set apart a few tables to place coloring place mats and/or white butcher paper on instead of the elegant tablecloths. They can wait for food with colors in hand as they decorate their tables and color their own place mats. Craft paper or butcher paper provides the best blank canvas to create a piece of artwork. Kids won’t get bored waiting for their meal and parents will be able to chit chat without running through the reception hall chasing their children. Adults, don’t be afraid to pick up a crayon and doodle your own piece of artwork instead of having that awkward chat with your great aunt.

Kids’ Packs

A kid’s pack is so much fun to prepare and even more fun to dive into! Parents will steal the kids’ pack just to find out what’s inside. You can place all kinds of activities in the packs. Hit up the dollar store and buy bouncy balls, mini coloring books, and wrapped games. Include fun little snacks, bubbles, glow sticks, or finger puppets. No one can resist hitting the dance floor with a glow stick, and bubbles just add to the fun of pictures so everyone wins with a kid’s pack.

Get Jiggy With It

The main attraction at a wedding reception is the dance floor. People get wild and crazy pulling out their best moves. Kids love to dance and they definitely don’t care who’s watching. Make sure to include some fun, kid-friendly songs in your playlist so both kids and adults can show off their best moves on the dance floor. No one can resist the old school “YMCA” or “Locomotion.” Line everyone up for the Chicken Dance so they can show off their chicken leg or teach them the “Macarena” for a little choreographed dancing fun. You could even surprise the kids by playing some of the biggest Disney hits to see them sing and dance at the same time. Can you imagine guests ranging from tiny to tall all together belting out “Let It Go” on the dance floor?